Support apparatus



April 18, 1961 T. x. DEc'rRow l-:T AL 2,930,381

SUPPORT APPARATUS Filed Sept. 26, 1957 ek, n

Unite 1 SUPPORT APPARATUS Tefus X. Decir-ow, Philadelphia, and Harold C.Sundby,

Roslyn, Pa., assignors to Minneapolis-Honeywell RegulatorCompany,Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 26, 1957, Ser.No. 686,418

-1 Claim. (Cl. 248-223) bracket which may be mounted-in any one of fourpositions on any type of a support member and still provide the sametype of keyV hole slot-supporting bolt connection for an object that isto be mounted thereon.

Prior to the present invention it has been necessary to provideinstrument casings with lugs having a plurality of irregularly spacedapart key shaped slotsV so VVthat such lugs could be placed over andthen locked to bolts that projected from a support member on which thecasing was vertically mounted. Experience has shown that wheninexperienced assembly men are employed to mount these casings,particularly the casing of a nonindicating instrument, that theysometimes incorrectly mount such instruments in an upside down positionrather than in their correct upright position. Components are oftenplaced in these casings which can perform their function satisfactorilyin either of the two aforementioned positions. However when such casingsare mounted in an upside down position the key shaped slots will thennot be in a position to be placed over the bolts projecting from thesupport member so that they may be lowered into the narrowest portion oftheir associated key slot. Instead, these bolts will only be broughtinto supporting contact with the surface that forms the'widest diametralportion of the slot.

As each of the bolts projecting from the stationary support under theaforementioned mounting conditions is only-in engagement with the largeportion of the key slot and the outside diameter of each bolt isconsiderably smaller than its associated large portion an undesirableamount of movement can therefore take place between the instrument andeach of these mounting bolts. It is thus evident that this casing cannottherefore be securely'mounted to a support member if it is inadvertentlyVmounted in the aforementioned upside down position.

It is thus another object of the present invention to .prevent thisincorrect mounting of such a casing from occurring by providing a singlebracket that has aback surfacethan canreadily 'be xedly connected to aver-ticalor horizontal pipe, or any othe'r'support member, and that alsohas a front surface that contains four equally spaced quadruple keyshaped slots into which bolts that project from the back of the casingmay be securely mounted.

It is thus another specific object of the present invention to'provide asupport bracket having four quadruple key slots in each of its fourcorners into four narrow groove portions of which four associatedsupport bolts of a casing may be engaged to enable these supportingbolts to always be placed in their correct supporting position in eachof these bracket slots regardless of whether States tat-tent' theposition of the bracket is in one or another of two vertically or twohorizontal positions.

A better understanding of the present invention may be had from thefollowing detailed description when read in connection with theaccompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 shows a rear elevation of a bracket disclosed in this applicationconnected to a stationary vertically positioned support member,

Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of the bracket taken on `the lines 2-'72of Fig. l.

Pig. 3 shows a rear elevation of the bracket connected to a Vstationaryhorizontally positioned support member.

Fig. 4 shows the position that the slots in the bracket shown in Fig. lwill be in when thev bracket is turned either 180 degrees clockwise orcounterclockwise from its Fig. 1 position.,

Fig. 5 shows the positionV that the slots in the bracket shown in Fig.'1 will be in when the bracket is turned either two-hundred and seventydegrees clockwise or ninety degrees counterclockwise from its Fig. lposition.

The bracket shown in Fig. 1 o f the drawing maybe constructed of aunitary flat steel plate material or made of any other material such asmolded plastic:v material. As shown, this bracket plate l is of anH-shaped configuration and is provided with four corner portions 2, 3,4, and 5. A `cylindrical aperture such as theaperture V6, 7, 8 and 9 areshown in'each of the corner portions. The centers of each of thecylindrical apertures 6, 7, 8 and 9 are shown locatedfin such amanner'that they-are equally spaced from the center of the bracket 1,and are circumferentially spaced ninety degrees apart' from one another.V

Each of the four slots, 11,12, 13 and i4 shown inthe corner portion `2of the bracket 1 is shown as having one of theirends opening into theaperture 6.

The slots 15"16, 17 and 18 which are shown in vthe corner portion 3, theslots19, 21, 22 and v23 `in the corner portionll and the slots 24, 25,Z6 and 27 in-the corner portion 5 are `all located in their respectivecorner portions in an identical manner to that already described for theslots 11-14 in the corner portion 2.

Figures l and 2 ofV thedrawiug shows the central portion of theaforementioned bracket las having an elongated dished outportion`28,'29, 31 of a U-'shaped contiguration. This central portion isalso shown as' having elongated slot formed bythe wall portions 32, 33,'34 and 35 of the dished out portions 28, 29 and Si. The part 29 of thedished out portion is also s'hownras having two spaced apart apertures35, 37 through whichrthe brackets may be attached to a stationarysupport member. Y The arrangement disclosed in Figures 1 and 2 ofthedrawing makes use of theseapertures 36, 327 to attach the wall portion33, 34 of the bracketvll toa vertically positioned stationary pipe 38 bymeans of a commercially available threaded U-bolt 39 and a bolt lockingmeans that consists of the two at washers 41, 42, two spring washers 43,44 and two locking nuts 45, 46.

fWhile these apertures are shown in Figs. l andV 2' 'as ybeing fusedtoattach the bracket Ito a stationary'pipe 38 it should be understoodthat other types of threaded members such as bolts can be placed throughthese apertures 36, 37 and into threaded engagement with tap holes in asupport member that has a dat surface so that the surface 29 of bracketmay be ilnsh mounted on such a surface.

In order to lighten the weight of the bracket Without atecting itssupporting strength the lower central portion 31 of the bracket adjacentthe corner portions 4 and 5 contains a slot 47 as can best be seen inFig. 2 of the drawing. A slot 4S that is identical to the slot 47 isalso cut in the lower central portion 28 of the bracket 1.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing there is shown proy theiustrumentcasing. t

Y y ectng through the slots26 and in closed tolerance -therevwith theshank of a tap bolt 49. The threaded end of this bolt is shownengagedwith threads in the tap hole 1 thatis inthe back wall -52 whichwall ,represents a casing or any other object t'li'atfis to'besupportedby lbracket 1 on the stationarysupport 38. Q-Otherta'p bolts53, 54 and 55 are'shown in Figl being used to'support the casing 52 onthe slotted out portions`ofj1v3, 1'7`and 22 of the bracket 1 in Vthesame manner as that described supra forY the bolt 49.` e

YIt should bev noted Ythat the .present bracket is not 'limited tocasings having mounting members "in theformV of tap bolts as describedsupra -butis also-useful in 'mounting casings having many other'fformsof cylindrical Y `mounting members projecting therefrornfsuchlas tstudlbolts,etc. Y Y Y'Fig. 3 shows-the bracket V1-turned circumferehtiallyninety Ydegrees in a clockwise direction from thejposition j noted inFig. 1 and the bracket mountedon a horizontally positioned stationarysupport pipe V56. ligure Valso shows that the cross shaped slots in thebracket 1 can accommodate the mounting of'supp'ortbolts projecting fromthe .back of the Casing 52 on a stationary Vmember 56 inthe same way Aitaccommodated these same bolts when the position of the bracket 1 was -inthe positionshowninFig; 1. l Y. i I.

Fig. 4 shows the position thatrthe corner portions when the bracket hasbeen rturned circumferentially another ninety degrees in a clockwisedirection from the position shown Fig.'3. Y -Y Fig. 4 also shows a solidYlinecroSS sectional View ofY the position that the shank ofY bolts49,153, S4-and -55 v will be in Whenthe casing intofwhichthrese bolts'are threadedfis initiallyY placed ragainst the bracket 1. Ihis Fig. 4showingalso-discloses a dottedjline position in the slots 19, 24,' 11and 15 into whichthe shankof the bolts 49, 53, 54 and 55 Yarejslidablymounted before these bolts are each tighteuelinto a vsecure-positionsuch t Y.as the secure position shown for the bolt-4 9in Fig. l2. Fig. 5shows another so1i d l inecross sectional view of the position that t he shank ofthe bolt 49, 53,y 54

From the above descripfign of "the details ef the bracket 1 it shouldreadilybe apparent that this bracket can be mounted on averticallysupported pipe 38 when Vthe position of the parts of thisbracket are in either the position shown in Fig. 1 or in the positionshown 'schematically for these 'partsning-Fig. 4.

It should also beunderstoodfroxnthe above description of the bracket 1that this bracket can be readily mounted on a horizontal supportpipejl56rwheu-therposi l0 tion of the parts of the bracket are ineither'the position shownin Fig. 3 or in the position shownschematically for these parts in Fig. 5. Y i

Y Furthermore .by using other Ysuitable bolt `members such as stud'orcap bolt connections in place of the y U-shaped bolt 39fthe Vbracket 11can .thenalso be attached to a at support surface yin anyone ofthepositions shown in Figs. l, 3, 4 or 5.

VIt can thus be concluded thatbecauseof the unique constructionVV of theYcross-shaped slots inthe bracket 1 the bracket-can readily support acasing or other object to be mounted thereon; in its upright positionirregardless Yof whether the bracket 1 is located in ,the posiz-s win bein to reet-,ivethegbeim 49,453, 54 and 55 jV What is claimed is:

rA supporting bracket operative t o support instrumentcase in any one offour angularly displaced positions ofthe bracket,r"comprising Va plateof an H-shaped configuration having 'fourV aperturessubstantiallyequally .spaced from' a central position on saidYplate','adjacent ones of saidvaperturesbein'g substantially equallyYspaced -from`each other to accommodate correspondingly positiouedYmounting bolts-oma-at side of said instrument case, each ofsaidjapertures having a central opening through which the head of anindividually associated kbolt '35 on saidinstrumentv casemay extend, theopening in each ;l:`said apertures communicating with four radial slots'similarly displaced approximately at right vangles from 'I .each otherand each of suchsize as to snugly receive @the shank ofthe lassociatedbolt-for rigidly mounting 40 'said 'instrument'case onsaid bracket inaselected one andSS'will'be in when the casing into which Ytheseboltsare threaded is initially placed against Vthe bracket in the lcrossshaped islot is supported 'in any one of its our Y v-positions on asupport member the casing of thein'strument may then'beV securely ushmounted on this-bracket 1 byplacing the shank .of one of the supportbolts Ythrough the lower grooved out portion of the slot and the otherYthrough its right or left grooved out portion and thence ,samemannergas that shown in Figs. 1- 3 and 4. Figure Salso shows a'dotted lineposition in theslots 18, 23, Y14 and 27 into which the'shank of thebolts 53,Y 54, 49

and are slidably mounted before these bolts areeach brought intothreaded engagement .with'taperedhole's in Yof`said positions, said H-shapedplatehaving anelongated, Ydished out' portion 'of'fU-shapedconfiguration ,which whenY in position' to support said instrument caseextends awayfrom Ythe said at side, and.; openings in said Ll-shapedportion Vto accommodate mounting Vmeans References'r'ited in tliejiileofpatentVv

